Over 3 million people trust Angie's List to help make the right choice

Be informed to avoid costly mistakes

Shop with us to ensure a fair price

Our complaint resolution team will help if a project goes bad

+See Verified Local Reviews

Over 959 reviews forFairland Remodeling Contractors from people just like you.

A

"From the beginning,

was very collaborative, getting our (sometimes vague) impressions and requests, and giving us options. He was flexible" ...More in allowing us to get our own appliances, and taking delivery even though he had not ordered them. He did the work mostly as explained. There were some delays caused by illness and so forth, but the work was completed in substantially the promised schedule, and, most importantly,

took care to minimize the time dueing whihc teh kitchen would not be usable; for example by carefully timing counter template and the other components, and by installing a temporary sink between the old counter was demolished and the time the new counter was installed.
We had a glitch in which

showed that he is responsible and trustworthy: our faucet (a fancy German one with a filter) was either faulty or badly installed;

took it upon himself to talk to the manufacturer and to the dealer, replacing various parts over several weeks (involving several trips from his base that is not so close) and then finally prevailing upon the parties to replace my faucet with a completely different one, that he installed, at no additional cost to me.

-Juan L.

A

"We contacted

because a few of our friends had a positive experience with him.
During the planning phase, he listened to our needs and made" ...More some great suggestions that we ended up going with. We had some challenges with figuring out how to design the roof lines to fit with our 2nd floor windows. Other contractors we looked at couldn't come up with a way. He was able to come up with a fantastic solution. His quote was very competitive/fair.
He took us to some porches he had built in the past. Being open to showing us some past jobs went a long ways.
The workmanship and quality were excellent. We particularly liked his work crew who had been with him for years (this is important because in the end, that is who does most of the work). They were polite and did quality work. We liked the fact that the work area was spotless at the end of each day.

stopped by at least daily to check on the progress, quality and our satisfaction. When we pick a contractor we also pick "the person".

is a quality person and we continue to see him around town and enjoy his company.
We highly recommend

Local Articles in Fairland

If you own a home and have never been to a Home and Garden Show, this is a great opportunity to see what you’ve been missing. Angie’s List experts attend hundreds of shows around the U.S. to help homeowners like you connect with local professionals whose business is to make your home improvement dreams into realities.
Check out our tour dates below and put us on your calendar. Make sure to stop by and see us at the show to take advantage of the lowest membership price Angie’s List has to offer, or just say hello and pick up some free literature and other fun goodies!

Inspiration & Ideas

Angie's Answers

An itemized list / cost breakdown, more often than not is used against the contractor when it is shared with other builders who will then beat it.

Good contractors use good people, and good people cost more. Just the cost of having the appropriate insurance / bond can be the difference between winning a job or losing it ot a 'lower bid'.

It is the rule of three; there is Good, Cheap and Fast. You can have any two: Good and Cheap, won't be Fast; Good and Fast, won't be Cheap; Cheap and Fast, won't be Good!

When comparing bids, it isn't the cheapest or the 'nicest' person you should select. You should understand why there is a large price difference (it shows there are gaps in your design program or what you have asked for specifically, which means there may be arguments later). If most of the bids are in line, and one is way high or way low, you want to know why before dismissing or selecting them.

There are two sides to this and everyone will have an opinion. I can tell you that from a contractor's point of view a customer that is up front with me is much easier to work with and the entire experience is much more pleasurable to all parties involved. If you treat your contractor like there's always something to hide from him expect the same in return. A good contractor is going to take your budget into consideration and make recommendations based on that budget. When possible, he's going to estimate the work 10-20% under your target to leave room for the unexpected. With any remodeling work, there's always the possibility and likelihood that there will be surprises that will have to be added such as mold damage, improper existing framing, etc. The cushion allows room for the project cost to grow without going over your budget. If no problems are found and you decide to spend that money some of the final finishes can be upgraded or other projects added.

Another good arguement for disclosing your budget to your contractor is to save you both some time and aggrevation. You may have a $10,000 budget and want $30,000 worth of work. Wouldn't you like to know your desires aren't possible before you get your hopes up or spend money on design fees for plans you can't afford? Likewise, the contractor doesn't want to put in the hours of calculating the estimate only to find out it was all for nothing or that he has to refigure for a much lower cost after pricing what you specified.

Be fair and honest with your contractor if you expect the same respect in return. You'll get a lot more out of it with the right contractor.

Herlonginc's answer stated that it is not the contractor's job to pay for materials and labor to do the job. I say baloney - a reputable, established contractor has the funds (or a business operations line of credit) to "carry" the job between interim or partial payments, each of which should be keyed to completion of distinct easily measured mileposts in the job, and for a homeowner I would say should be in not more than 20% increments for jobs exceeding a week or so. For shorter jobs, then an initial payment, 50% completion, and completion would be normal. His cost of carry funds is part of his cost of doing business, and is figured as part of his overhead.Bear in mind when he is buying materials and paying labor, his materials he typically pays for on a 10-30 day invoice, and his labor typically a week or two after they work, so he is not really "fronting" that much money if you are giving him weekly or biweekly interim payments, on a typical residential job.

If he does not have the funds to buy materials (excepting possibly deposit on special-order or luxury items, which still typically are 10-30 day invoiceable to him) and hire personnel then he is a fly-by-night operation, and he should not be bidding that size job. You should never (other than MAYBE an earnest deposit of not more than the LESSER of 10% or $5000) let the payments get ahead of the approved/inspected work progress - typically payment should be 10-20% BEHIND the progress, with at least 10% retained at the effective end of work until final inspections and completion of the final "punchlist".

That promotes rapid continuation of the work, discourages the all-too common nightmare of contractors taking on more work than they can handle so they leave your job for weeks or months to go work on someone else's job (frequently to start that someone else's new job so he can get the job), and does not leave you out a tremendous amount of cash if he does not finish and you have to hire another contractor to finish the job. Remember, if you have to hire a new contractor to finish the job, he will charge you a lot more than the original bid to finish someone else's unfinished mess.

This may seem cynical, but having started in the construction business about 50 years ago and seeing the shenanigans that a lot of contractors pull you cannot be too safe. You have to remember contractors are like any other people - I would say maybe 10% are outright crooks, another 25% or so will pull a fast one or overcharge if the opportunity presents itself, maybe 30% will do the work but not any better than they are forced to, about 25% are good conscientious reputable workmen, and the last 10% or so are really spectacular - conscientious, fair, and efficient craftsmen. This top 35% are the only ones you should have bidding in the first place. Therefore, only get bids from long-term reputable firms (so you shake out the marginal short-timers with less experience and also generally less ability to finish the job on budget and schedule), only those that have good RECENT references, and preferably with excellent word-of-mouth recommendation from people you know and trust. That way, you are starting right off with the cream of the crop, so hopefully whichever one bids low should be a good choice.

NEVER start with bids, then check the references of the low bidder - why even consider a vendor or contractor who you do not have faith in from the start ? Get references and short-list you possibles BEFORE you ask for bids.

Low bids - that is another matter - commonly the low bidder is NOT who you want, especially if he is significantly lower than several others, which might mean he is desperate for work, made a math error, or did not correctly figure the entire scope of work. You want a reasonable bid with someone you connect with and trust - that is worth a lot more in the success of the job than the absolute lowest bid.

You should always get a set of print and pull a permit when remodeling you home. It is a good thing that you want to be involved in your project. I do have some reservation about the electrical work. There is a lot at risk with doing the work yourself. If the house burns down you will never get the insurance money, unless your a certified electrician. Now of days 90% of home fires are blamed on electrical problems because the insurance company is to lazy and cheap to investigate the true problem. Also find out if the city you live in will allow you to perform the work. Make sure you coordinate your subs to have the proper time and space to perform their job. You don't want people working on top of each other. If you order all you materials make sure everything is there before you start your project. Have your subs check for proper and full items to be installed. Make sure every sub has a working set of prints. Make sure you have all the demo done before your subs show up to work. Schedule your plumber first, do any final framing or electrical work while you wait for inspection. Electrical inspection next followed by framing, insulation, and wallboard. All subs must get a final inspection on the job before you (the GC) can call in your final inspection.

Home Remodeling reviews in Fairland

They did a great job. They are responsive and listen to customers concern. I will definitely use their service again.”

- Carmencita S.

A

Rating

“

All went well, Doggers made a relatively good job in communicating with me promptly, there was a time where I did feel left out of the loop but only due to a

lack of communication. I did my research when deciding which contactor I wanted to go with, and I

say these guys did not disappoint me. I already ...More have another contracted project with them for a different property in the works, I will post an update when its finished.”

- michael C.

A

Rating

“

Basically rebuilt a very large patio wooden structure and repainted same.
Painted main house trim and back house.
Replaced outdoor lights with

's.
Repaired stucco wall and repainted same.
All workmen very pleasant and professional.
Small extra repairs or painting done without fuss or extra charge....More />
Work started and completed when promised.
Recommended most highly.

”

- Lewis G.

B

Rating

“

not punctual, one day say he would be here in the morning, did not come until the afternoon, said he was with his son's real estate agent dickering about $50.00 on a foreclosed home. Uncomfortable with his saying it took 1 1/2 hours to go to

to buy paint supplies, have four cans of paint mixed into one large tub and buy ...More 4 more gallons of paint. Called two different SW stores and each person I spoke with said at most, would maybe take 1/2 hour. called and cancelled any further work.”

- Mary L D.

D

Rating

“

Based on the very positive reviews found on Angie's list, my wife called

on March 9th to requests an estimate. We were told they could be out the next day to look at master bath and work up estimate. The next morning my wife called back to advise we would be out for just a bit in the morning but that if there was no answer ...More at the home number we had left the day before, to please call her on her cellphone so that we could come straight back home. We never received a return call (at either the home or cell phone number) and no one ever showed ..
I thought we would give this company the benefit of the doubt but now a week has gone by with no further response from the company. We could perhaps understand if one contact number was inadvertently misplaced, but two ???”

- Edgar M.

F

Rating

“

I was in need of a few small projects for my new home and contacted

. After multiple attempts at trying to get someone on the phone I left several messages. Almost two weeks later, someone finally called me back and scheduled a date and time to come to my house to give me a quote. Of course, no one ever showed up. It was raining ...More pretty bad that day so I anticipated that

might be late or not able to make it, so I called again (no one picked up of course) and I left a message asking if someone would still be making it and if not, if they would at least call me back so I could re-schedule. Its been a few weeks now, and no response still.
If you want someone's business, pick up your phone and return your calls.”

- Palak P.

A

Rating

“

They were very professional. The guys working here were very nice, which is a bonus when you have people in your home for a few weeks. The end result looks great and they completed the work on time. We are very happy with the results.”

- Angie F.

A

Rating

“

Timely and complete. Answered all questions and made appropriate arrangements as necessary. Thoroughly cleaned up afterwards and put down furniture and floor protection over all areas as appropriate.”